


soft worries

by numbika



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:40:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28409391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/numbika/pseuds/numbika
Summary: You know those dawn thoughts which are somehow always make you feel things. And they are softer than your usual thoughts. Yeah, sometimes even Commander Vimes can't escape them.
Relationships: Sybil Ramkin/Samuel Vimes
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	soft worries

It was dawn. The morning greyness seeped into everything, and where darkness was slowly got replaced by a kind sleepy gloom.

Commander Vimes slowly blinked a couple of times and waited until his eyes adjusted enough so he could make out the outlines of the objects in the room. He stretched his legs carefully under the thick blanket, and for a few moments just enjoyed the warmth that surrounded him. When he heard the slightly dull snoring coming from his wife, a similarly warm feeling spread around in his chest.

Silently he turned to his other side and just laid like that without moving for minutes.

He had at least another hour to even start to wake up.

Carefully listened to the barely audible noises filtering through the window. Somewhere nearby a horse-drawn carriage passed in a big hurry. Was it late, or the driver was fleeing from the law?

He softly sighed and rubbed his face with his hands while stifling a yawn. _You will have to shave again_ , he reminded himself inside his head.

Sybil was breathing evenly beside him, sleeping deeply.

He, on the other hand, often woke up in the middle of the night these days. At first, he thought the reason was the wolves that were chasing him in his dreams. But the dreams have come and gone now, and yet he still woke up every night. And before falling asleep again, he always made sure his wife was fine. She, and their baby too.

He carefully slid his hand on his wife's belly. His inner nervous self almost always melted into nothing when he did that, or at the very least, retreated to the very back of his mind. Everything was all right now.

Lady Ramkin snorted softly in her sleep, and Vimes almost chuckled.

The tiny kick he felt on his palm silenced him completely.

This was not the first time, and he usually held himself together better. Maybe he was just softer a bit because of what happened in Überwald. Maybe it was the gloom of the morning, or that nobody was here to see him. Maybe it was because of this he felt like he was hidden from everyone.

The small kick repeated, and he felt his throat tighten, he had to bite his lips to suppress the sniff.

He took a big shaky breath.

Slowly rubbed his tearing up eyes into his arms, then waited. The pounding of his heart seemed to slowly calm down.

 _You can't cry. For gods' sake_ _you can’t cry_ _because you will wake and upset Sybil. She would worry and certainly not just let you go back to sleep without explanation._

What could he say? That he is so happy he is unable to properly describe it? How he could never imagine he will ever be so lucky? That he is afraid that he will not be a good father, because he does not remember his own? That he has no idea how he could thank or even begun to return the many wonderful things Sybil did to him?

The unwanted tears welled up again and landed on Vimes' pillow.

_You can’t cry, you shouldn’t cry, you are an adult._

And yet, all his thoughts wandered back to the tiny life. And these were followed by memories that had nothing to do with the drink, the lonely midnight walks, or the blacked-out evenings interspersed with vomiting.

A little life will be born soon, and he will call him a father and have his own will and thoughts. Who knows who he will take after, but he will definitely be the newest and most important member of their family?

Samuel Vimes did what he did as a child when he didn’t want to wake anyone up at night. He pressed the pillow into his face, trying to suppress the soft sound of crying.

_Gods damn it, man, everything is fine. Stop crying like some bloody child._

His fingers sank into the pillow. His body tensed and then relaxed as he swallowed his tears and took a labored breath.

He felt his wife stirring beside him and he became almost motionless.

"Sam?" Lady Ramkin reached out and stroked his hand, the tone of her voice suggested that she might still be half asleep.

"I-yes?" Vimes carefully put aside the pillow.

"Is everything all right, darling?"

"Sure, its… just the wolves again." Vimes swallowed slowly and rubbed his face into his shoulder.

"Oh, dear."

She gently pulled her husband closer to her. She hugged him as tightly as she could.

They were alone together, and Vimes was too tired to protest. He hid his face in the woman's nightgown.

"It's all right, dear. We're already home and everyone's fine." Sybil stroked her husband's hair and then slowly fell back asleep.

Vimes closed his eyes and nodded slightly.

Yes, everything was fine.


End file.
